A joint research project from Cambridge and Oxford University Presses working together:
From the exec summary:
"This report presents the results of a large-scale global survey, jointly
undertaken by Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press
in the summer of 2019, with nearly 5,000 responses. The survey set
out to understand the value of monographs to researchers and to hear
the voices of researchers on the relationship between monographs and
their research activities."
Bullet-pointed conclusions stay at a high level, but there are 40 slides with pretty fine-grained detail of their findings.
- Monographs remain a vital part of scholarly ecosystems
- Monographs are the established medium for dissemination and
debate of new research in HSS
- Writing a monograph supports the research process itself; the
monograph is an organising principle in research
- The crucial role of monographs looks set to continue in the
future but evolution is needed
On my reading, academics would like monographs to be published more quickly, to be (often) in briefer compass (30-60K words), and more easily available (indeed would like to have both e- and p-versions for one low price -- and the ideal price point is zero).
Jim O'Donnell
ASU